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Charting a Just Transition for Indigenous Peoples

“We are Earth. Earth is us.”

Indigenous Peoples have endured centuries of violence, exploitation, and displacement - facing murder, enslavement and forced relocation, while their lands have been militarized and criminalized. Despite this, their rights are

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Le Monde Autochtone 2024

The compilation you have in your hands is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community

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IWGIA’s reaction to the COP 29 outcome

Left to right: IWGIA Climate Advisor, Stefan Thorsell; UCRT Executive Director, Paine Mako; Maasai Elder, Metui Ole Shaudo; and PINGO's Forum Climate Manager, Gideon Sanago

In the lead up to COP 29, and indeed throughout the conference in Baku,

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The Indigenous World 2024

The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
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El Mundo Indígena 2024: Myanmar

No se dispone de información precisa sobre la cantidad de pueblos indígenas que hay en Myanmar, en parte debido a la falta de comprensión en el país del concepto internacionalmente reconocido de pueblos indígenas. El gobierno afirma que todos los ciudadanos de Myanmar son “indígenas”

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The Indigenous World 2024: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an expert body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to provide advice on Indigenous issues to ECOSOC and, through this, to the UN agencies, funds and programmes; to raise awareness of Indigenous Peoples’ issues;

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The Indigenous World 2024: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the Paris

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The Indigenous World 2024: IFAD's Engagement with Indigenous Peoples

The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was established in 2011 as a permanent process of consultation and dialogue between representatives of Indigenous Peoples’ institutions and organizations, IFAD and governments. The global meeting of the

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The Indigenous World 2024: Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to raise ambition towards low-emission climate-resilient pathways.[1] The GCF was

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The Indigenous World 2024: Defending the Rights of Indigenous Women

The strategy adopted by the Indigenous women's movement to confront the structural inequalities they face in all countries of the world has been to walk together, collectively influencing strategic spaces from the local to the global level, both socially and politically. Practically, this means

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The Indigenous World 2024: Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous Peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are represented on

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The Indigenous World 2024: Canada

In Canada, the contemporary Indigenous rights and governance framework varies across the country. The Constitution Act of 1982, as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, explicitly recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights and three groups of Aboriginal Peoples (commonly referred to

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The Indigenous World 2024: Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) has been a self-governing country since 1979 within the Kingdom of Denmark (or Danish Realm), which consists of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Kalaallit Nunaat. The country is a 2 million km2 island in the Arctic whose population is 88.9% Greenlandic

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The Indigenous World 2024: Sápmi 

Sápmi is the Sámi people’s own name for their traditional territory. The Sámi people are the Indigenous people of the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula and large parts of the Kola Peninsula and they live in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. Traditionally, livelihoods such as

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The Indigenous World 2024: Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023

From 22 to 25 November 1973, 40 delegates representing 21 organizations of Indigenous Peoples from Arctic Canada, Greenland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden gathered in Copenhagen for the first Arctic Peoples’ Conference.

This groundbreaking and successful conference “demonstrated mutual

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The Indigenous World 2024: Mexico

According to data from the 2020 Population and Housing Census, produced by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 23.2 million people aged three years and older self-identify as Indigenous in Mexico, equivalent to 19.4% of the country's total population; 51.4% (11.9

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The Indigenous World 2024: Bolivia

According to the 2012 National Census, 41% of the Bolivian population over the age of 15 is of Indigenous origin, although 2017 projections from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicate that this percentage is likely to have now increased to 48%. Of the 36 recognized peoples in the

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The Indigenous World 2024: Taiwan

The officially recognized Indigenous population of Taiwan numbers 589,038 people, or 2.51% of the total population.[1]

Sixteen distinct Indigenous Peoples are officially recognized: Amis (also Pangcah), Atayal (also Tayal), Bunun, Kavalan,

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The Indigenous World 2024: Philippines

The country’s Indigenous population continues to be estimated at between 10% and 20% of the national population of 109,035,343, based on the 2020 population census.

The Indigenous groups in the northern mountains of Luzon (Cordillera) are collectively known as Igorot while the groups on

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The Indigenous World 2024: Nepal

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census of Nepal, the total population of Indigenous Peoples in Nepal is 35.08%, which is 29,164,578. However, Indigenous academics and movement leaders believe they are the majority. Fifty-nine Indigenous Peoples in Nepal are formally

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The Indigenous World 2024: Myanmar

There is no accurate information on the number of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar, partly due to a lack of understanding in the country of the internationally-recognized concept of Indigenous Peoples. The government claims that all citizens of Myanmar are “Indigenous” (taing-yin-tha)

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The Indigenous World 2024: Kenya

The peoples who identify with the Indigenous movement in Kenya are mainly pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, as well as some fisher peoples and small farming communities. Pastoralists are estimated to comprise 25% of the national population, while the largest individual community of

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The Indigenous World 2024: Ethiopia

The Indigenous Peoples of Ethiopia make up a significant proportion of the country’s estimated population of 120 million. Around 12% are pastoralists who live across the country, particularly in the Ethiopian lowlands, which constitute some 60% of the country’s total landmass. There are also

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The Indigenous World 2024: Botswana

Botswana is a country of 2,417,596 inhabitants, having celebrated its 57th year of independence in 2023. Its government does not recognize any specific ethnic groups as Indigenous, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are Indigenous. However, 3.2% of the population

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Indigenous Peoples assert their rights at the Africa Climate Summit

4 September 2023 - The Africa Climate Summit commenced today in Nairobi, Kenya. The three-day summit aims to drive green growth and solutions for Africa and the world. Indigenous Peoples are represented by delegates from 20 countries advocating for their rights in climate action.

IWGIA på Folkemøde Bornholm 2023

Folkemødet på Bornholm nærmer sig og også i år er IWGIA repræsenteret ved en række arrangementer. Tilmed har vi i år udvidet folkemødeholdet betydeligt. Vi har nemlig fået et nyt hold frivillige, som har arrangeret ikke mindre end fire events. Herudover deltager vi i fire andre events.

Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders visits Denmark

The first Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Michel Forst, visited Denmark from 8-10 May as part of his European information tour explaining the new mandate. He met with various Danish government officials and civil society organisations, including

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Le Monde Autochtone 2023

The compilation you have in your hands is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community

...

The Indigenous World 2023: United States of America

The number of Indigenous people in the United States of America is estimated at between 3.1 and 8.7 million,1 of which around 20% live in American Indian areas or Alaska Native villages.

Indigenous Peoples in the United States are more commonly referred to

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The Indigenous World 2023: Canada

Indigenous Peoples in Canada are collectively referred to as “Aboriginal Peoples”. The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of Aboriginal Peoples: Indians, Inuit and Métis. According to the 2021 Canadian Census, there were 1.8 million Indigenous people in Canada, accounting for 5%

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The Indigenous World 2023: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international treaty under the United Nations (UN), adopted in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, promote its sustainable use, and ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilisation (Art.

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The Indigenous World 2023: The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to assist so-called developing countries in climate adaptation and mitigation actions. The GCF aims to catalyse a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient

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The Indigenous World 2023: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. After more than 20 years of climate negotiations, in 2015, UNFCCC State Parties adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement

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The Indigenous World 2023: Peru

The Peruvian State recognizes 47 Indigenous languages spoken by 55 different peoples. According to the 2017 National Population Census, almost six million people (5,972,603) self-identify as belonging to an Indigenous or native people, representing just over a quarter of the total population.

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The Indigenous World 2023: Nicaragua

Nicaragua has seven Indigenous Peoples: the Chorotega (221,000), Cacaopera or Matagalpa (97,500), the Ocanxiu or Sutiaba (49,000) and the Nahoa or Nahuatl (20,000) live in the Pacific, centre and north of the country while the Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast is inhabited by the Miskitu (150,000),

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The Indigenous World 2023: Tanzania

Tanzania is estimated to have a total of 125-130 ethnic groups, falling mainly into the four categories of Bantu, Cushite, Nilo-Hamite and San. While there may be more ethnic groups that identify as Indigenous Peoples, four groups have been organizing themselves and their struggles around the

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IWGIA celebrates Inuit Circumpolar Council International leadership

On 21 July 2022 Sara Olsvig was elected as the new Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) International Chair at the organisation’s 14th General Assembly, taking over the position from Dr Dalee Sambo Dorough, who served from July 2018.

IWGIA wishes to congratulate both Sara in her new role and

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Recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Nationally Determined Contributions

Indigenous Peoples positioned themselves in multilateral climate negotiations through their advocacy. Although the international community gradually recognises Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to climate governance, a rights-based approach in national climate action is still largely

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UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the

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The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a climate finance mechanism established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 and operating since 2015. The GCF assists developing countries with climate adaptation and mitigation actions. It aims to catalyse a flow of

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Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty under the United Nations (UN), adopted in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, to promote its sustainable use, and to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilisation (Art.

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El Mundo Indígena 2022: El Fondo Verde para el Clima

El Fondo Verde para el Clima (FVC) es un mecanismo de financiación climática creado en 2010 por la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (CMNUCC) y que ha estado en funcionamiento desde 2015. El Fondo brinda asistencia a los países en vías de desarrollo para sus

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The Indigenous World 2022

The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. For 36 consecutive years IWGIA has published The Indigenous World in

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The Indigenous World 2022: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty under the United Nations (UN), adopted in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, to promote its sustainable use, and to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilisation (Art.

...

The Indigenous World 2022: The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a climate finance mechanism established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 and operating since 2015. The GCF assists developing countries with climate adaptation and mitigation actions. It aims to catalyse a flow of

...

The Indigenous World 2022: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the

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Indigenous Peoples call for Climate Action at COP 26

COP26 – the two-week UN Climate Change Conference – begins next week in Glasgow.

As in previous years, IWGIA will be there in partnership and alongside Indigenous Peoples to support their engagement, messages and mission to influence the outcomes of this key climate conference,

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Russia’s Indigenous Peoples call for international support to save the Arctic

Shifting to electric vehicles (EV) is seen as an important step towards a greener future. However, the process ofextracting nickel, a crucial component of EV batteries, very often is not environmental-friendly. The world’s largest producer of nickel, Nornickel, has been destroying

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New guide: Indigenous Peoples and Climate Technologies from UNEP-DTU

Picture credit:  A young fisherman walks under a living root bridge at Mawlynnong village, India. In the relentless damp of Meghalaya’s jungles the Khasi people have used the trainable roots of rubber trees to grow Jingkieng Dieng Jri living root bridges over rivers for centuries.  Photo from the book Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism by Julia Watson. Copyright: © Amos Chapple

Indigenous Peoples' knowledge on climate solutions can play a critical part in climate action. A new guide shows ways to integrate and strengthen Indigenous tech in national Technology Needs Assessments.

Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge of adapting to climatic change and their

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Indigenous Peoples stand up to oil companies in Peru

In 2020, the Government of Peru allocated 260 million Peruvian Soles (PEN) (approximately USD 72 million) of public funds to remediate tropical forest sites damaged by oil exploitation on Indigenous territory in the Pastaza, Corrientes, Tigre and Marañon river basins. With this, the government

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The Indigenous World 2021

This compilation is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community that result from the

...

The Indigenous World 2021: Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty under the United Nations (UN) adopted in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, to promote its sustainable use, and to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilisation (Art.

...

The Indigenous World 2021: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the

...

Indigenous Peoples and land rights in Myanmar

Community, part of the Karen people. Photo: Alejandro Parellada 

After resisting the policy of forced assimilation enforced during the decades of military rule, today Indigenous peoples of Myanmar are subjected to land dispossession in the name of

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Indigenous Activism in Russia: What's next?

Image of the Kazas community of the Indigenous Shor people in Kemerovo Oblast, which was displaced by the expansion of coal mines. Photo: Nelli Slupachik

Monitoring forest fires expose devastation of Indigenous Peoples’ territories and unique biodiversity in Bolivian lowlands

The most widespread and intractable forest fires ever recorded in Bolivia ravaged the lowland regions of Santa Cruz, Beni, La Paz and Cochabamba last year, making 2019 a particularly dark period for the country and for Indigenous Peoples as many of the affected areas were on Indigenous

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Indigenous Peoples call for climate action amidst global pandemic

IWGIA and AIPP submit a statement to the UNFCCC

In September 2020 the Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) and International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) presented a joint submission to the UNFCCC calling for the full consideration and engagement of Indigenous Peoples’ in climate action.

Indigenous Peoples are

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El Mundo Indígena 2019: Convención Marco de la ONU sobre el Cambio Climático

La Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (CMNUCC) es un tratado internacional adoptado en 1992 durante la Cumbre para la Tierra en Río de Janeiro, con el fin de abordar el creciente problema del calentamiento global y los efectos nocivos relacionados con un cambio

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The Indigenous World 2020: Editorial

Constituting just 5% of the world’s population, Indigenous Peoples protect 80% of the planet’s biodiversity.1 Globally, many of the remaining standing forests are on Indigenous lands and territory. At least 24% of global carbon stored above ground in the world’s tropical forests, or

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Indigenous World 2020: Kenya

In Kenya, the peoples who identify with the Indigenous movement are mainly pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, as well as some fisher peoples and small farming communities. Pastoralists are estimated to comprise 25% of the national population, while the largest individual community of

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Indigenous World 2020: Mali

By the end of 2019, Mali’s population stood at more than 20 million inhabitants1 (four times more than 59 years previously). The Tuareg (Tamazight speakers), the Moors (Arabic speakers) and, in riverine areas, the Songhay and Peuls (Fulani) are the main communities that inhabit the

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Indigenous World 2020: Morocco

The Amazigh (Berber) peoples are  the  Indigenous  Peoples  of North Africa. The last census in Morocco (2016) estimated the number of Tamazight speakers at 28% of the population. However, Amazigh associations strongly contest this and instead claim a rate of 65 to 70%. This

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Indigenous World 2020: Namibia

The Indigenous Peoples of Namibia include the San, the Ovatue and Ovatjimba, and potentially a number of other peoples including the Damara and Nama. Taken together, the Indigenous Peoples of Namibia represent some 8% of the total population of the country which was 2,533,244 in 2019. The San

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Indigenous World 2020: Niger

Niger's Indigenous Peoples are the Tuareg, Fulani and Toubou, all of them transhumant pastoralists. Niger’s total population was estimated at 14,693,110 in 2009. Of the population, 8.5%, or 1,248,914, were Fulani, 8.3%, or 1,219,528, were Tuareg, and 1.5%, or 220,397, were Toubou.

Indigenous World 2020: Rwanda

The population of the Batwa in Rwanda is estimated at between 25,000 and 30,000,1 which is less than 1% of the approximately 12.4 million people in Rwanda as of 2019 (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda). Post-genocide law prevents the collection and dissemination of

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Indigenous World 2020: South Africa

South Africa’s total population is estimated at around 50 million people, and Indigenous groups make up approximately 1% of this figure. Collectively, the various African Indigenous communities in South Africa are known as the Khoe-San/Khoisan, comprised of the San and the Khoekhoe/Khoi-Khoi.

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Indigenous World 2020: Tanzania

Tanzania is estimated to have a total of 125-130 ethnic groups, falling mainly into the four categories of Bantu, Cushite, Nilo-Hamite and San. While there may be more ethnic groups that identify themselves as Indigenous Peoples, four groups have been organising themselves and their struggles

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Indigenous World 2020: Tunisia

As elsewhere in North Africa, the Indigenous population of Tunisia is formed of the Amazigh. There are no official statistics on their number in the country but Amazigh associations estimate there to be around 1 million Tamazight (the Amazigh language) speakers, accounting for some 10% of the

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Indigenous World 2020: Uganda

Indigenous Peoples in Uganda include former hunter-gatherer communities, such as the Benet and the Batwa. They also include minority groups such as the Ik and the Karamojong and Basongora pastoralists who are not recognised specifically as Indigenous Peoples by the government.

Indigenous World 2020: Cambodia

Cambodia is home to 24 different Indigenous Peoples, who speak mostly Mon-Khmer or Austronesian languages and constitute 1.4% of the national population, or around 400,000 individuals.1,2 The Indigenous territories include the forested plateaus and highlands of North-eastern

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Indigenous World 2020: China

Officially, the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) proclaims itself a unified country with a diverse ethnic make-up, and all nationalities are considered equal in the Constitution. Besides the Han Chinese majority, the government recognises 55 minority nationalitieswithin its

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Indigenous World 2020: Laos

With a population of just over 7 million,1,2 Laos – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) – is the most ethnically diverse country in mainland Southeast Asia. The ethnic Lao, comprising around half of the population, dominate the country economically and culturally. There are,

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Indigenous World 2020: Nepal

According to the 2011 Census, the Indigenous nationalities (Adivasi Janajati) of Nepal make up 36% of the total population of 29.8 million,1 although Indigenous Peoples’ organisations claim a larger figure of more than 50%. The 2011 Census listed the population as belonging

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Indigenous World 2020: Thailand

The Indigenous Peoples of Thailand live mainly in three geographical regions of the country: indigenous fisher communities (the Chao Ley) and small populations of hunter-gatherers in the south (Mani people); small groups on the Korat plateau of the north-east and east; and the many different

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About IWGIA

IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.

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Indigenous World

IWGIA's global report, the Indigenous World, provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Read The Indigenous World.

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